Live Streaming an Esports Tournament

Esports tournaments provide an amazing opportunity for students interested in video games to get out of their at-home gaming area and into a community environment. While many parents see video gaming as a solo activity, there are a variety of ways that kids can now become involved in local community activities. Scott Novism, the owner of Bavous Youth Esports, has started an esports league called Evolve Youth Esports with the noble mission to, “Transform a love for gaming into a true sporting experience.” Evolve Youth Esports is one of the many video game leagues that are determined to offer, “more than just video games” to students in their area.

Novism is positive that getting kids together to play video games can help develop social skills. In fact, a recent study published in American Psychologist reports that “70% of gamers play with a friend” and “Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills” (APA, 2014).  Many worry that video gaming, as a sport, lacks the team-based community-building aspects of traditional sports. Parents may still reminisce about how baseball teams would meet up in person at a baseball field each week. This concern is quite valid. The lack of in-person community-based “get-togethers” for many video gamers could lead to what Novism calls “Synthetic Autism.” This is a term Novism uses to describe gamers spending too much time in front of screens, which can affect social development skills. 

While a common fear among parents is that children who play video games will suffer from social isolation, the studies do prove otherwise. A team of researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found, “that video games are not the cause of some adolescent issues. Rather, the reason a child spends his or her time playing video games, like social isolation from peers, is more relevant.”  The study includes data from interviews with 873 students surveyed every two years for six years. The results did provide insights that confirm video games are being used to “fill a child’s need to belong and desire to master tasks.” The report says “Children who struggle socially are more likely to turn to video games for entertainment” but overall, the study shows video games in a positive light (Science Daily, 2019).

Perhaps using video games as a mechanism to help children meet up in local communities can help build social development skills after all. Many students who play video games at local esports tournaments or gaming centers can build new relationships with friends in their local area. Novism says, “when we bring the students back together… it doesn’t take that long… if you get kids in the right environment where they are playing face to face… It is amazing how given the right opportunity, they will teach each other, learn from each other, and grow together…. That is what is missing online... It’s the non-verbal teaching that you get from peers that share your interests” (Maricopa, 2019).

When you help your local school or community host an esports tournament or gathering, you could be helping to foster more than just video gameplay. If you look at the experience of bringing children together to learn social skills, student participation and cooperation is more like modern education. Given how attracted children are to video games, competitions and events are becoming a popular way to get kids together in new and innovative ways. This brings us to our next chapter, live streaming your first esports tournament, to make it that much more exciting and powerful.  

Link to book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083D3WKMW

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